Date/Time: Fri, Mar 17, 4pm China time
Zoom ID: 989 6560 8865
Guest Speaker: Prof. Candice Delmas
Abstract: Acts of self-destructive resistance, such as self-neglect, self-immolation, hunger strike, and lip-sewing, which involve self-directed violence, have not caught philosophers’ attention. This neglect makes sense given the methodological assumptions that underwrite philosophers’ approach to resistance, including the tools they use, the goals they set out for their investigation, and what they view as paradigms of resistance. I identify five such methodological assumptions and show that they do not only constitute an obstacle to theorizing self-destructive resistance, but also distort understanding of the very phenomena that philosophers intend to capture, including civil disobedience and violent and non-violent resistance.
Biography: Candice Delmas is an associate professor of philosophy and political science at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, specializing in social, legal, moral, and political philosophy. In 2022-2023, she is a Fellow-in-Residence at the Collegium de Lyon (a French Institute for Advanced Study).
